Flat Battery - Can't get in!
Discussion
Guys,
I have committed a sin and not been in the Cerb for 7 weeks (been ill) - the battery is so flat that the alarm won't work so can't open the door to hook up the trickle charger to the fag lighter.
Can somebody please email me off line to tell me the secret way of getting in?
Thanks
Darren
I have committed a sin and not been in the Cerb for 7 weeks (been ill) - the battery is so flat that the alarm won't work so can't open the door to hook up the trickle charger to the fag lighter.
Can somebody please email me off line to tell me the secret way of getting in?
Thanks
Darren
I would also give it a try.
If you have to change the battery, see below. As per tvrfreak.com
(Not sure if this relates to both engines, 4.2 and 4.5.., I assume it does.)
Changing the Battery
What a nightmare!
Removing the airbox is easy enough, but hanging on to the nuts and bolts that come off and making sure they don't fall into some deep crevice in the engine is virtually impossible. Thankfully, I have one of those long magetic probes. Very handy. Another useful tip is to keep a shoebox in front of the engine compartment. You can put your
tools and nuts and bolts and bits that come off in here and they won't disappear into the engine (unless you overturn the box--don't ask!).
Once the battery is clearly visible, pay attention to how the cables are routed down the side of the battery. You might want to draw a rough diagram. This is really important!
Next comes the disconnecting-the-terminals-and-setting-the-alarm-off- repeatedly-and-trying-to-wrestle-the-battery-out bit. This step is virtually impossible. There's a huge bolt receptacle in the way. No matter how much you try to lever the battery up and over this, it doesn't seem to work. I finally managed to get a good hold on the bottom of the battery and with a back-wrenching heave, it gave.
My only criteria for the replacement battery was that it be the same or higher spec and a smaller size so I don't go through this again. I have padded it all around with thick neoprene strips so it doesn't bounce around, and then clamped it in place as best I could. When I hooked up the terminals, I managed to short the battery a few times. And I dropped the ratchet on the car and got two chips for my efforts. Anyways, I eventually managed to get the terminals hooked up and after the alarm had gone off for the 100th time, the car locked itself up. I got in using the secret method, opened the car up, decided to keep the keyfob outside the car, and went back to work.
Now then, where was I? Oh yes, time to put the airbox on and tighten up all the hose clamps. Easy enough. Final step was to put on the cover that goes under the bonnet. If you look, there's a flap on the battery side that slides in next to the battery. Well, it wouldn't slide in anymore because the damn battery cables were in the way!
Lots of fidgeting, loosening, tightening, rearranging later, after another 100 times of setting off the piercing alarm, I finally got this piece to go in properly. Finally it was time to close everything up, double check everything, and reset the ECU, and I was DONE. 2 hours flat including the trip to buy the battery ($62 for a nice, small Sears Die Hard one).
Having the following items helps *greatly*:
A long thin magnetic probe to fish out stuff that falls into engine;
Socket extensions to reach into the deep cavities;
Universal-joint adapters for ratchet;
Set of allen keys
Pair of pliers ;
Towels to cover wings of car with before starting any work;
>> Edited by kojak69 on Friday 5th December 16:37
If you have to change the battery, see below. As per tvrfreak.com
(Not sure if this relates to both engines, 4.2 and 4.5.., I assume it does.)
Changing the Battery
What a nightmare!
Removing the airbox is easy enough, but hanging on to the nuts and bolts that come off and making sure they don't fall into some deep crevice in the engine is virtually impossible. Thankfully, I have one of those long magetic probes. Very handy. Another useful tip is to keep a shoebox in front of the engine compartment. You can put your
tools and nuts and bolts and bits that come off in here and they won't disappear into the engine (unless you overturn the box--don't ask!).
Once the battery is clearly visible, pay attention to how the cables are routed down the side of the battery. You might want to draw a rough diagram. This is really important!
Next comes the disconnecting-the-terminals-and-setting-the-alarm-off- repeatedly-and-trying-to-wrestle-the-battery-out bit. This step is virtually impossible. There's a huge bolt receptacle in the way. No matter how much you try to lever the battery up and over this, it doesn't seem to work. I finally managed to get a good hold on the bottom of the battery and with a back-wrenching heave, it gave.
My only criteria for the replacement battery was that it be the same or higher spec and a smaller size so I don't go through this again. I have padded it all around with thick neoprene strips so it doesn't bounce around, and then clamped it in place as best I could. When I hooked up the terminals, I managed to short the battery a few times. And I dropped the ratchet on the car and got two chips for my efforts. Anyways, I eventually managed to get the terminals hooked up and after the alarm had gone off for the 100th time, the car locked itself up. I got in using the secret method, opened the car up, decided to keep the keyfob outside the car, and went back to work.
Now then, where was I? Oh yes, time to put the airbox on and tighten up all the hose clamps. Easy enough. Final step was to put on the cover that goes under the bonnet. If you look, there's a flap on the battery side that slides in next to the battery. Well, it wouldn't slide in anymore because the damn battery cables were in the way!
Lots of fidgeting, loosening, tightening, rearranging later, after another 100 times of setting off the piercing alarm, I finally got this piece to go in properly. Finally it was time to close everything up, double check everything, and reset the ECU, and I was DONE. 2 hours flat including the trip to buy the battery ($62 for a nice, small Sears Die Hard one).
Having the following items helps *greatly*:
A long thin magnetic probe to fish out stuff that falls into engine;
Socket extensions to reach into the deep cavities;
Universal-joint adapters for ratchet;
Set of allen keys
Pair of pliers ;
Towels to cover wings of car with before starting any work;
>> Edited by kojak69 on Friday 5th December 16:37
darrent said:
ARGGG! Managed to get in (thanks all again!) but I put my Accumate trickle charger on and the battery reads below 1v - the manual states that the battery is beyond repair!!!! I will see how it goes but I don't fancy having to swap the battery - I heard it's a real b!tch!
Cheers
A trickle will do nothing to recover a flat battery. It is worth putting a real, charger on the battery overnight and seeing if it will recover. Stranger thinks have happened....
If you have access to another large engined car (well, something with a big battery/Alternator), and a decent set of jump leads, i would suggest jump starting the car if the battery charge doesn't work. Then take it out for an hours drive - apparantly (according to AA man), a car battery will be fully recharged after about 45mins or "normal" driving
Another way of recovering a deeply discharged battery is to hook it up to a decent one i.e pos to pos, neg to neg, with a set of jump leads, as olly said, and put them on charge together.
Some battery chargers need a certain voltage present before they'll work and as you've only got 1v you'll struggle to get anything from the charger, however with 12v from the decent one, you're cooking on gas!!!!
Hope this makes sense.
Paul
Some battery chargers need a certain voltage present before they'll work and as you've only got 1v you'll struggle to get anything from the charger, however with 12v from the decent one, you're cooking on gas!!!!
Hope this makes sense.
Paul
olly said:
Then take it out for an hours drive - apparantly (according to AA man), a car battery will be fully recharged after about 45mins or "normal" driving
Is that the same AA man who told me it would take about 4- 5 hours?
The battery is around 100 AH capacity. To charge it in 45 minutes would mean 125 amp charge current which would fry the plates and leave nothing to run the car. Also a bit of a challenge as the alternator is typically 80-100 amp output in the first place. Even if the capacity is 50, it is still 60 ish amps charging current. 45 minutes isn't going to charge a completely flat battery. Better than a poke etc but I wouldn't rely on it. If the battery is only just flat enough and needs a top up then maybe.
Don't know if this'll make you feel better but I regularly leave the car for 4 or 5 weeks at a time due to work but when I get back the battery is always flat, I can open the doors but not much else.
A quick jump start from a friendly neighbour and an excuse to go for a blast for an hour and it's as good as gold till I go away again.
'Touching wood as I write this till I get back next week and find myself locked out'
>> Edited by andy4200 on Saturday 6th December 11:39
A quick jump start from a friendly neighbour and an excuse to go for a blast for an hour and it's as good as gold till I go away again.
'Touching wood as I write this till I get back next week and find myself locked out'
>> Edited by andy4200 on Saturday 6th December 11:39
Julian64 said:
I would be careful charging a completely flat battery while still connected to the car. Your alternator will go up to about 15V, but my Clarkes charger will go up to 18V which I think is pushing it a bit for the safety of the car electrics.
Correct. The charger shouldn't be rated more than 7 amps, due to posible damage to the electrics.
darrent said:
Cheers shpub! Bollox! Will try a full charge for a few hours...
I am not going to even attempt to change the battery myself - may get a tow round to Halfords - let them do it!
When was the last time you went to Halfords? Have youseen the people that work there? I wouldn't want thyem changing a battery on a Fiesta, let alone a TVR
Good old trickle charger - may have taken 4 days but it charged the battery up enough to turn the engine over. Only bad news is that even after a good 2 hour drive, when I put the charger back on it said the battery was almost flat so I guess the battery is not charging whilst being driven.
New battry me thinks...
New battry me thinks...
Well..... I knew I had jinxed myself being being a smug barsteward a few posts above.
This morning I went to my car to start it up and nothing, no doors, windows, alarm!!!
Got in by the alternative route and luckily had a hire car from work to get me going again.
Unfortunately with all the hassle the hire car went back late and cost me an extra day and my alarm fob doesn't work anymore.
I assume that disconnecting the battery for a few minutes will reset everything and I can get the fob working again. If there's anything special to do can somebody email me!!!
Andy
This morning I went to my car to start it up and nothing, no doors, windows, alarm!!!
Got in by the alternative route and luckily had a hire car from work to get me going again.
Unfortunately with all the hassle the hire car went back late and cost me an extra day and my alarm fob doesn't work anymore.
I assume that disconnecting the battery for a few minutes will reset everything and I can get the fob working again. If there's anything special to do can somebody email me!!!
Andy
take a tip from an experienced and previously stranded person... 1) get the battery checked about now as cells die and it doesn't matter if you drive the whole country with no lecky gizmos on...the battery will die another day..nothing will repair a faulty cell!
2) carry a decent set of jump leads (boot or behind the seat)...look coy, flutter eye lashes and ask passer by for a jump-start...sooner or later someone will oblige...
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